


Together Against the World

by super_madi



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Homelessness, Jughead Jones Needs a Hug, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Jughead Jones, Veronica Lodge is nice, runaways - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-03-28 20:04:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13911180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/super_madi/pseuds/super_madi
Summary: “Excuse me.” She said over the sounds of the city. The blonde girl looked up at the raven-haired girl above her. “You’re that girl from the coffee shop, aren’t you?”Before she could reply a taller boy came up to the two girls.“Betty are you okay?” He asked as he held a bundle of dirty blankets in his hands.It's Betty and Jughead against the world. But they've learned that the world is a cruel place. That is until Veronica Lodge enters their life, and changes it for the better.





	1. Chapter 1

She stood in line at the coffee shop. 

Veronica had been having a pretty bad day for her standards. She got a B- on her math test,  Vixens practice consisted of running laps and to make it worse the from the rain caused her hair to look terrible. 

So she decided to treat herself to getting a cup of coffee from a cute little café. It was kind of close to the rougher side of town but it worth it for the cheaper prices. The small girl in front of her was talking forever as she counted her coins. 

Veronica just rolled her eyes. “Some of us have places to be,” she said slightly meaner than she intended. 

The girl turned around and looked apologetic. “Oh um I’m sorry.” She pushed the coins closer to the cashier as he began to count them hesitantly.

“You’re fifteen cents short.” 

“What?” The girl looked broken as she turned back to the uninterested cashier. 

“Bottle of water is $2.50, and you only have $2.35.” 

“That’s all my money. Please, can’t you do anything?” 

“Nope.” He said envisioning the p. “No money no water.” 

Annoyed and confused Veronica quickly slammed down a five dollar bill. “This should cover it. Also, throw in a sandwich.”  

The closer she watched the girl the more she noticed. This wasn’t a young girl, but a teenager who looked as if she hadn’t had a shower in a few days. Her shoes and clothes had holes in them. Also, her hair could have used a good pampering. 

The girl turned in shock as the cashier began to gather the items. “You look like you need it. Besides it gets me out of her faster.” 

“Oh uh thank you.” She said timidly.

The cashier came back with a bottle of water and a neatly wrapped sandwich. The girl quickly scrambled to gather the loose change and her gifted meal before it could be taken away from her. Before she could say anything the girl was running out of the cafe, down towards the river where it was mostly abandoned. 

As Veronica watched the rain heavily fell, wondering where the girl might be going. 

 

...

 

After a long night at dinner with her father’s colleagues, she was tired and ready to go home to her warm and soft bed. 

Veronica couldn’t forget the girl she had met at the café. She had determined that the girl must have been homeless or at least living in very rough conditions. She also couldn’t help but wonder where the girl would be hiding in a storm like this. She hoped she was safe and in a shelter or a home.  

She looked out the window as the raindrops rolled down the window. The part of town they were in was the worst of the worst. Her father had tried to improve it a few years ago, but the citizens of the city denied it, not wanting to bring the lower class up to their middle or upper-class standards. 

She watched the rain pour down heavily as it hit the pavement outside. That was when she spotted a familiar shade of blonde. 

“Smithers stop the car.” 

“Veronica what are you doing its pouring rain!” Her father yelled as she opened the car door and went to the girl under the bridge. 

“Excuse me.” She said over the sounds of the city. The blonde girl looked up at the raven-haired girl above her. “You’re that girl from the coffee shop, aren’t you?” 

Before she could reply a taller boy came up to the two girls.  

“Betty are you okay?” He asked as he held a bundle of dirty blankets in his hands.

“Yeah, we were just talking.” She said giving him reassuring a smile. He then sat down next to her and wrapped one of the blankets around her shoulders. 

“Veronica. Get back into the car now.” Her father yelled from the window. She held upper finger telling him to wait a moment. 

“How old are you two?”

“Sixteen.” The girl said softly. 

‘Why aren’t you in school or a home?” 

“We weren’t wanted in the foster system now. People don’t want to adopt teenagers, they want cute babies.” The boy said roughly as the girl leaned into him for warmth. 

“Wait here.” She said as she walked back over to the town car. 

“Daddy those kids are homeless and it is freezing out here. Can we take them home at least until this storm passes?” 

His father looked at his wife who looked back at him. They could have a conversation without any words. They then looked back to their daughter. 

“Fine but you will be in charge of anything they do. They steal you pay us back, they get sick you clean it up, they do anything you are responsible for that action.” Her father said with a strict look on his face. 

She agreed and then walked back over to the teens. “If you guys would like someone to stay the night you can come home to my house. It is a warm place to stay for the night and safe, I promise. It has extra bedrooms and enough food to last. Please think about it, I want to help you.” She said kindly. 

The two teens looked at each other. They had heard stories of people in disappeared after getting offered a place to live, most were found dead in the river the next morning. 

The blonde smiled politely, “Thank you but we don’t want to intrude.” 

The rich girl looked disappointed. “Oh okay. Well, I am going to give you my phone number because the winter is about to get a lot worse. If you ever want to stay the night just call.” She returned her frown with a kind smile and handed the girl a piece of paper. 

“Thanks.” 

Veronica then turned and headed back towards the town car, trying to avoid the rain dripping through the cracks of the bridge. She turned back to the pair before getting in, “if you need anything just call. I promise I’ll answer.” She smiled then got into the car and it drove away, disappearing into the night. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place two weeks after their first meeting

As Veronica had predicted the worse of the winter had hit the city and hit it hard. All of the shelters were overflowing, so the two teens were forced to try and tough it out. 

“Juggie.” 

“Yeah Betts?” 

“I’m so cold.” She said chattering her teeth. “I don’t think I’m going to make it through the night.”

“Shit. Okay here.” He said as he placed his jacket over her shoulders. “Stay here, I’m gonna go call that girl.” 

He quickly stood up from their spot and ran to the closest phone. He was not going to force Betty to be cold any longer, even if it was only one night. She has had experiences close to death before due to hyperthermia, so Jughead promised her to never let it get that bad again. It put him in situations like this one that he didn't feel fully comfortable with. 

It's why he had kept a quarter in his pocket along with the phone number the raven-haired girl had given him a few weeks prior. 

The payphone was only a few blocks away but due to the freezing air, it felt like a lot longer. He was out of breath when he got to the phone. He quickly entered the quarter and pulled out the phone number. Dialing it carefully he silently prayed that she would answer. 

It was on the fourth ring that she answered. 

“Hello?” She answered tiredly. 

“Um, this is the boy from under the bridge. I was with the blonde girl and she really needs your help. It’s too cold for her and she has had an issue with illnesses recently.” 

“Say no more, I will be there soon. Are you still under the bridge?” 

“She is yeah. We will meet you there. Thank you.” 

“Of course.” She said before hanging up the phone. He sighed as he placed the phone back on the wall. After a moment he forced himself back out into the cold and ran back to the blonde. He returned to her in record time and quickly rewrapped his arms around her. 

“She’ll be here soon.” He said trying to warm her up. She just laid her head on his shoulder and waited. He sat there counting the minutes and watching her breaths in the cold air. 

About ten minutes after he returned the black town car pulled up just as it did a few weeks ago. The raven-haired girl got out dressed in warm clothes and quickly went to the blonde. Her lips had begun to turn blue and her shivering continued. 

“Does she need a hospital?”

“She needs to warm up first. I think she may be okay for now.” 

The two of them help the girl into the car carefully. Jughead sat right next to her and kept his arm around her both protectively and to warm her. 

He could feel the raven-haired girl eyes on him. 

“Are your parents going to be okay with this?” He asked quietly. 

“They are going to have to be. Neither of you could have survived tonight, they say this is the coldest night in years. You can stay as long as you would like.” 

“Thank you.” 

They sat in silence for a few minutes. He stared out the window watching the city turn from the dirty, downtown atmosphere to the clean and rich suburbs. He could feel the girl beside him stirring in her sleep as the stranger watched the two of them. 

“So what’s your story?” She asked as Jughead as he felt the girl next to wake up. 

“We’ve been friends since we were kids. Both grew up in hell and escaped together to a different kind.”  His arms were wrapped around the girl trying to warm her up. She was shivering as she leaned into his body. 

Veronica didn’t want to pry so she let the two fall silent. After a few minutes of silence the girl finally spoke up, and she sat up and looked at the other girl.

“My dad died before my first birthday, and my mom died when I was fifteen. We’d been poor our whole lives and with my other two siblings it was always hard for my mom to provide for us. She got involved with the local gang that cost her life.” She stopped talking giving him a chance to jump in. 

“My dad was in charge of the gang and when I was seven my mom left with my sister, leaving me with my drunk father. He didn’t take it well and got more involved with the gang and when her mom died he feel apart. They had been friends since they were kids and my dad decided he just couldn’t live without her. I came home one day to find his body hanging from a rope.” She took his hand and squeezed it comforting him. They both stayed silent for a minute as they both took a moment to calm their emotions.  

“I was in between foster homes, nobody wants a messed up kid so after his dad’s funeral we decide to run away. Our parents had nothing and left us nothing so leaving our small town was easy, but living on our own was tough. We’ve been roughing it for about fifteen months now and ran out of money about twelve months ago.”

“Now you are all caught up.” He said emotionless. 

The girl didn’t know what to say, so she just stayed silent. She looked out the window to see her familiar neighborhood. 

“Um, we are almost here. My parents are fairly rich so the house is big. We have a guest house the two of you can share if that’s okay.” 

“It sounds great, thank you so much,” Betty said weakly. 

The car soon arrived at the house. The two teens just stared in awe at the size of the house. It was huge. 

She led them to the smaller house around back to a small house. It was still bigger than any home they had lived in.

“So the kitchen is right there, it should have some food still stocked.” She said pointing to the beautiful kitchen. 

“This is the living room, the couch pulls out. The bathroom is down that hallway and the main bedroom is right through here.” She said leading them through the house. “It has a closet and ensuite. If you guys want I can get you some clean clothes and uh there are towels through there.” Betty quickly hugged the girl tightly as she thanked her. 

“This is all so amazing.” She said pulling away from the hug. “Thank you.” 

The other girl just smiled brightly. 

“I have school in the morning so I have to get to bed, but as I said earlier you two can stay as long as you would like.”

“Wait we don’t even know your name.” 

“Veronica Lodge, and you?” 

“Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones.” She said pointing to the boy now eating some chips he found in the kitchen. 

“It’s a nickname, don’t ask.” He said rolling his eyes. 

She just nodded before saying goodnight to the pair. She snuck back into her bedroom hoping her parents would understand her reasoning. 

 

…

 

“How are you feeling?” He asked the girl sitting on the bed. 

“My body still feels cold but I’m getting there. I don’t think I’ll need a doctor.” 

“That’s good. You hungry?” 

“Yes please.” She said smiling at the boy. 

He hopped off of the bed and went out to the kitchen while the girl went into the walk-in closet. 

“Oh my god, this is amazing.” She said staring at the closest. Jughead walked up behind her to see for himself. 

“Jesus. Who has this many articles of clothing!” 

Betty walked through and touched each piece of clothing in the closet. “I think I’m in heaven.” 

Jughead just laughed at her as he rolled his eyes. He left the girl to look at the clothes to find some food for them to eat. He found it fairly well stocked and with actually healthy food. 

He figured she wouldn’t want anything heavy so he made them each a grilled cheese. A few minutes later he brought the girl who had changed into a pair of pajamas she found and was bundled up in blankets flipping through channels on the TV. 

“There are so many I don’t even know where to start.” He took the remote from her and turned the TV off. 

“How about we eat then sleep?” 

“That sounds really good.” 

The two of them ate the grilled cheeses quickly as she began to yawn. When they were finished he took the plates to the kitchen to wash them. When he returned to the bedroom he found the blonde asleep. He smiled at the sight of her looking so peaceful. He quietly picked her up and tucked her into the blankets. 

“Juggie?” She said tiredly. 

“Yeah?” 

“Will you lay with me?” 

“Yeah of course.” He said climbing into the bed next to her.

She immediately curled into him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. The two of them fell asleep together as they had been for the past few years. 

For them it was normal but for the raven-haired girl who checked on her new friends before she left for school, it was super cute. She snapped a photo on her phone when she dropped by some money and her cell phone number. 


	3. Chapter 3

Veronica's day at school had been surprisingly drama free.

Probably because all of her usual problems seemed less important due the two teenagers probably still sleeping in her guest house.

She had avoided her parents before school and ignored their text messages. As the day continued on she began to panic on what her parents would do when they found Betty and Jughead. So during her lunch period, she decided to call her parents and tell them what happened. 

Her mother sounded bland while her father sounded worried. Not worried about the teens, but worried that one of them would try and steal his money or business secrets. 

She convinced her parents to let them stay for a few more nights while she tried to come up with a more permanent plan. 

She spent the rest of her school day focused on coming up with a plan so when she came home she would have the perfect idea. 

By the final bell she did.

She remembered that they had run away from their foster homes and so they would still be registered in the foster system, and so they could be adopted. 

She ran the idea by the two of them first, and their excitement was being pushed down in fear that it could all fail. Convincing them that it would work for her parents to become their legal guardians until they turn 18. 

So she approached her parents after dinner when her mom had drank a few glasses of wine and her father had time to calm down after work. 

She had Betty and Jughead tell her parents their story and then she came in with her plan. 

It worked a lot better than any of them had ever expected. Apparently, Hermione had lived in the same small town as them until she had turned fifteen and transferred to the private school Hiram attended. She lost all touch with Riverdale, but she never forgot the people there. 

After a long and private talk in Hiram’s study, the Lodge’s sat down with the two homeless teens. 

“We think it is best if you continue to stay here with us, at least until you both have turned 18."

The two teens whole vibe suddenly changed as they tried to hide their excitement. Betty held onto Jughead’s hand, squeezing all of her emotion into his.

“But if you two are going to live here there are going to be a few rules. One, Betty will sleep in the empty room next to Veronica while Jughead you can stay in one down the hall. Two, you will have a curfew set and we expect you to follow it. Midnight on weekdays and Two am on weekends. Third, no members of the opposite sex in your room past curfew. Lastly, we expect you both to attend school. You two seem smart enough and so you can take a test and see where you should be placed.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Lodge. This really means so much.” Betty said still trying to keep calm. 

“Thank me after you take the test. We can schedule you for let's say this Saturday, that gives you a few days to prepare.” 

“Ye,s that sounds perfect.” 

The two of them both agreed to their terms and eventually were excused from his office. They shut the door and Betty jumped into his arms excitedly. 

“Oh my god Juggie! We just got our lives back on track!” 

He hugged her back and smiled. “Yea,h this is a big step up.” 

Veronica then came out a moment later. 

“Oh my go,d I overheard everything!” She said giving the blonde a hug. 

“How do you think you’ll do on the test?” She asked nervously. 

The two just looked at each other and shrugged. 

“We were both already in sophomore and junior classes as freshmen so hopefully we can test into junior level classes.” 

“That would be so amazing! We could be in the same classes! Eek, I’m already so excited!” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
>  
> 
> Comment and like if you would like to see more :)


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